A Four Pointed Star
by XxMookinexX
Summary: You had a perfect group of friends. You weren't the star, but you were happy. As you all grow and change, don't think you're alone. You see the clearest around you because you give off your own light. Sequel to Bounce. TRY IT!
1. North: hands

**Title**: A Four Pointed Star

**Authoress**: XxMookinexX

**Summary**: You had a perfect group of friends… and you weren't the star, but you were happy… so even though friends grow and change… don't think you're alone… you see the clearest around you… you give off your own light.

**Pairings**: KazuxRika

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters, I only wish I did. Any and all unrecognisable characters and situations belong solely to me and are not to be touched without permission. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole purpose to entertain.

**A/N**: I do not intend to use an OC as a main character, if any appear they will merely be background people mentioned in passing to make this more realistic. Any characters which appear OOC are written that way out of a desire to keep them in character according to the situations I have placed them in.

**Situation**: This story takes place when our characters are still 13/14. In the sixth movie (which this story and all subsequent stories are set one year later than) Rika had just turned 13, so I am working on the following ages: Takato, Jeri, Henry, Kazu and Kenta are all 13 or 14, and go to the same public school. Rika is 14, but goes to a private school. Alice is also 13. Ryo is 17. Ai and Mako are both 4. Suzie is 8. I don't know where the last four go to school.

This is written in personal third person, and will mainly follow Kazu's path through these events. This story contains four (probably short) chapters. It is the first of four sequels (and side stories) to **BOUNCE**. It is suggested you read that story first.

»«»«»«

**A FOUR POINTED STAR  
><strong>_the continuing story_

You had a perfect group of friends…  
>…and you weren't the star, but you were happy…<br>…so even though friends grow and change…  
>…don't think you're alone…<br>…you see the clearest around you…  
>…you give off your own light.<p>

North:  
><strong>hands<strong>

"I'll consider it."

The words haunted his sleep, and shadowed his daydreams. He couldn't help thinking of her all the time. Of her fiery red hair, which went gold in the sunlight, or her bright blue eyes, and pale skin, of the little wrinkle she got when she frowned, or the dimple that formed whenever she pursed her lips, which never showed when she was smiling. He thought of her nervous expression when she'd said that, of the blush on her face, of her fragility, which he'd only come to know of recently. He wondered how he could have seen all of that for years and only just realised how he felt.

Kenta could tell there was something up with him. Kenta knew him best after all. But Kenta could work it out on his own, he was smart (Kazu's polar opposite in that respect), and he knew that Kazu didn't want anyone to realise he was faking it. Faking his confidence which usually knew no bounds. Kenta kept quiet, and Kazu had never appreciated him more.

"I love you, man," he told him, dropping his arm around his friend in his usual gesture of camaraderie. Kenta didn't say anything. He looked at Kazu, and Kenta had a way of looking at someone, staring at them, and quietly adjusting his glasses that made them feel uncomfortable. Unreal. Like they should explain themselves. Their entire existence, and Kazu was glad Kenta hadn't quite figured it out yet. He would, probably as soon as he saw Kazu with Rika again. He was already suspicious (along with everyone else – Takato and Henry kept sharing significant looks) because Kazu had gone to the digital world to _save_ her, but well, they weren't convinced. Maybe because they thought (and Kazu privately agreed) he had no chance with her, so it couldn't possibly be _that_. Could it?

He thought his heart was going to explode it was racing so fast the next time he saw her. She smiled at him, the small genuine smile that made the corners of her eyes crease so that she looked so much kinder. So much more soft and genuine.

"Hey," she greeted, and he knew if he tried to speak he would splutter his words so he settled for nodding, and she grinned and turned to Jeri instead.

For a long time, that was it. The full extent of their interactions, around the others at least. He got it, he really did. He wasn't Ryo, and she wasn't truly over him. Maybe she never would be.

"I'll wait," he told her during one of their snatched conversations after school. He'd taken up the bad habit of walking across town to meet her as she was on her way back, and he'd walk her the rest of the way for a few minutes of conversation before turning and backtracking all the way to his house. He wished they didn't live so far apart, but it was worth it, because they hadn't known each other very well to begin with, and he wanted to change all of that.

She blushed, and he knew she hadn't forgotten. Was still considering it. That was enough, for now. He wasn't competing with Jeri and Takato. He wasn't looking for anybody else. He knew as instinctively as he knew his own name that Rika was it for him. That if he ever had the chance to hold her hand, he'd be happier than Takato and Jeri ever could be. Maybe he was a little jealous sometimes, but that was because he wanted to take Rika places. He wanted to let her shine.

It was almost a year later, a year since her last birthday and the total madness that followed. He realised it with a jolt, because he had to get her something special. Something she would really appreciate. She'd bought him a digimon game she'd known he'd enjoy for his, and he had initially been a little disappointed at how generic it was until he'd opened it up and seen that she'd made him a mock digimon card for Gaurdramon, and slipped it inside. It was the little things she did, the way she'd brush back her hair behind her right ear when he said things that made her happy, that reinforced his feelings. The way that she accepted his chocolates on Valentines Day with a blush, rather than pushing them away even though he knew she felt awkward about it still. The way she'd baked him cookies on White Day, and shoved the box into his hands and run away, telling him to shut up when he shouted thank you. He liked the stupid smiley faces she'd put at the end of every text, and the strange symbol for a fox she made instead of typing renamon's name. She was dearer to him than he'd ever imagined a girl could be. He'd spent a lot of his childhood daydreaming of being a hero, being someone like Ryo, and he'd been doing it for the glory, not the girls. If not for Rika, maybe he would have been different, but she was the incomparable. Unrivalled. Perfect in spite of her imperfect psychologically damaged way of looking at the world.

His doorbell rang, and it was with some surprise that his mum called his name a few minutes later.

"Hirokazu." He winced. He hated it when she used his full name. There was an urgent knocking on his door, and he realised with some surprise that his mum had bothered to climb the stairs. She pushed her head through the doorway and whispered, "There's a girl here to see you!"

He could have died and gone to heaven, because he knew from that single reaction that it wasn't Jeri. Couldn't be Jeri because his mum always talked about Jeri as if she was an extension of Takato. Jeri was Takato's girl. To his mum, that was all she would ever be. A blur because she wasn't Kazu's.

He couldn't help it. He pushed passed his mother and ran downstairs, breathless with excitement and nerves to find Rika waiting for him, a strange nervous smile on her face, but that wasn't what drew him up short. It was the dress.

"Uh, wow," he said, desperately searching for words like _beautiful_ which wouldn't piss her off, but couldn't find any. "You're beautiful." Her face caught fire. He'd never seen anyone go so red. But she looked down at herself with some surprise. Like she'd forgotten what she was wearing today. He couldn't really believe it. Maybe this was a dream, because he'd only ever once seen her wear a dress voluntarily and that was at her party last year. The incredible thing was, he realised in staring at her, Rika had a figure now. Suddenly from underneath the T-shirt he'd watched her wear since she was twelve, she was fifteen and totally gorgeous, like nothing he'd ever seen, and Kazu was the type to look at girls once he realised they were there.

"I, uh." She hovered awkwardly in the doorway.

"Come in," his mother said from behind him, swooping back down the stairs, and he'd never seen his mother grin like that before. It was altogether unsettling. "I'll make some tea." Rika's panic increased, and her wide eyes went to Kazu, so he did something crazy. Something he rarely did. He went against his mother.

"Actually, do you mind if we go for a walk first?" He wasn't sure who he was asking, and since they both stared at him blankly, it was hard to know how to proceed. "We'll only be a few minutes." Rika suddenly looked towards his mother too, and his mother looked between the two of them, as if a little unsure, then nodded slowly.

"Alright, I'll prepare it for when you get back." Kazu beamed. Sometimes, very rarely, his mother was rather cool.

He couldn't have put on his shoes fast enough, but he politely waited for Rika by the door as she slipped her dainty feet (she would probably kill him if he ever told her she had dainty feet) into the flowery sandals that matched her dress.

"Did you come here from a shoot?" He had to ask, because he thought maybe she was far too put together today. He couldn't imagine her going through all this effort just for him. He (madly) hoped, but he found it unlikely. Rika had been doing more modelling recently, although she was more commonly known for advertising jeans. He wondered if his mother would have recognised her or not.

"Actually," she said, and her voice was a laugh. "I ran away half-way through." His disappointment rose and crashed over him. It was only momentary though, because he was still very glad she'd come to see him, and how often would he ever see her like this? But it was sad to know she'd only come because she needed a place to lay low. "Kazu…" Maybe she had caught his expression drop a centimetre or two. She was suddenly looking at him very seriously as they walked along. "Do you ever have those moments when you wonder why you're doing something? Why you're not doing something else instead?" He tilted his head, thinking.

"Usually whenever I do homework," he said, and knowing that he'd sounded just like Gaurdramon in his logic. "Like, when it's a sunny day, and I'd rather be playing football." She blinked. "Or moments like these," he hesitated, and then he forgot the rest of his sentence temporarily because she reached out and grabbed his hand.

"Or moments like these?" she prompted, bringing them to a standstill and shifting so that she could look up into his eyes. He swallowed. These nerves were going to kill him one of these days.

"Moments like these," he repeated. "When I can't help noticing everything about you, and have to remind myself not to do anything to make you angry because I want you to want to keep talking to me. I prefer it when you're talking to me." Her smile widened a bit, even though she was blushing. "Even though I'd rather we were like this." He tugged on her palm, and they both looked at the connection, and still smiling, she took his other hand and interlaced their fingers.

"I don't get those moments very often," she confessed, her blue eyes holding something playful in them, like the way she used to look at Ryo, the way she looked at him more and more recently. Maybe, just once, he was winning. "But I thought, I'm the way I am because of you." Because he'd come to find her when she had nobody left. "And then I suddenly realised, I don't know what I'm waiting for." Her hands were tiny in his. She was a fighter. She was tough as nails. She'd definitely kill him if he ever said any of these things, but she was surprisingly feminine. She bit her lip slightly. Sometimes she was astoundingly sweet and nervous, and some part of him had always known that none of it was for show, she was simply that way around him. He looped the hair back from her face, and stared at her blush, because he suddenly realised it was put there by him. She reacted to him. "I like you, too," she said, and that was amazing. He nervously tilted his head forward, and she rose on tiptoes, her left hand gripping his right like a lifeline, and they kissed feather-light in the middle of the street.

Only the crash of crockery could break that moment, and it did, alerting Kazu to the fact that they had barely walked any distance from his house, and his mother had just seen everything. Rika grinned through her blush, because she had the pleasure of seeing the exact same expression mirrored on his face.

"Uh," he suddenly realised he'd forgotten his manners. "I should probably introduce you." She nodded, still a little unsure, but her eyes were full of hope in a way he hadn't seen them before.

When he introduced her as Rika Nonaka, his mother practically died from shock, proving that though she hadn't recognised Rika's face from the ads, she most certainly recognised the name. If he weren't so happy, he'd have found it rather sad that he'd never impressed his mother more. She'd barely smiled when he'd helped to save the world. It should have been horrifying, but she was only truly proud of him in the way that mothers got sometimes, when he brought home a girl who was more than worthy of him.

»«»«»«

_Heya, the next update soon, but let me know what you think._

_Luv ya_

_**ΧχΜοοкίηεχΧ**_

_©2011 XxMookinexX. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of XxMookinexX._


	2. East: eyes

**Title**: A Four Pointed Star

**Authoress**: XxMookinexX

**Summary**: You had a perfect group of friends… and you weren't the star, but you were happy… so even though friends grow and change… don't think you're alone… you see the clearest around you… you give off your own light.

**Pairings**: KazuxRika

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon or any of its characters, I only wish I did. Any and all unrecognisable characters and situations belong solely to me and are not to be touched without permission. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole purpose to entertain.

**A/N**: I do not intend to use an OC as a main character, if any appear they will merely be background people mentioned in passing to make this more realistic. Any characters which appear OOC are written that way out of a desire to keep them in character according to the situations I have placed them in.

**Situation**: This story takes place when our characters are still 13/14. In the sixth movie (which this story and all subsequent stories are set one year later than) Rika had just turned 13, so I am working on the following ages: Takato, Jeri, Henry, Kazu and Kenta are all 13 or 14, and go to the same public school. Rika is 14, but goes to a private school. Alice is also 13. Ryo is 17. Ai and Mako are both 4. Suzie is 8. I don't know where the last four go to school.

This is written in personal third person, and will mainly follow Kazu's path through these events. This story contains four (probably short) chapters. It is the first of four sequels (and side stories) to **BOUNCE**. It is suggested you read that story first.

»«»«»«

**A FOUR POINTED STAR  
><strong>_the continuing story_

You had a perfect group of friends…  
>…and you weren't the star, but you were happy…<br>…so even though friends grow and change…  
>…don't think you're alone…<br>…you see the clearest around you…  
>…you give off your own light.<p>

East:  
><strong>eyes<strong>

It wasn't exactly an insult when their friends stared at them with sheer disbelief. Kazu thought, as he took in the impression of their shocked faces, he would imprint the moment on his memory and carry it with him forever. It wasn't exactly an insult, but it annoyed him. He grabbed her hand tighter.

"Don't stand around like a school of fishes, are we going to this film or what?" Rika blushed as Kazu turned, and she turned with him, and hand in hand they walked towards the cinema. Jeri appeared along side her, and linked their arms together. She gave Kazu the look that meant she planned to have a girly moment, and he relaxed his grip on Rika's hand, conceding the space. After all, they both had to face the questions sooner or later.

"Why didn't you tell me," Kenta hissed, immediately kicking Kazu's leg from behind so that he buckled at the knee and almost went sprawling.

"Whoa, Kenta, buddy. What gives? I thought you'd already guessed."

"Well, we knew something was going on," Takato muttered, falling into step behind them. Kazu glanced over his shoulder at him and frowned when he realised Takato was avoiding his eyes. Henry was walking silently at Takato's side, refusing to react to anything. "So, you and Rika… when did you, uh… how-"

He shrugged, forcing a natural calm into his actions that he didn't feel. It was one thing to say he wasn't worthy of her, and quite another to have someone else repeat that back to him. Even if that wasn't what Takato had actually said, it was implied in his every fidgeting gesture. Kazu blinked.

He'd thought this way before. That Takato might be jealous, and it was complicated because there had been an unusually long period of time where the reverse was true. When Takato first got Guilmon, and had these new friends, and a completely new world in front of him. Kazu had always been the winner before. Jealousy was a horrible feeling. Kazu remembered. So he breathed in, and out, and closed his eyes until he felt like himself again.

"I told her I liked her."

"Have you… you know… kissed?" Kazu stopped walking, and Henry almost walked into him it was so unexpected. He stared at Takato.

"Have you?" he asked. He was unsure why it bothered him so much, but he really wanted to get on Takato's case about something. Takato blushed.

"What? How-? No. Of course not." Kazu rolled his eyes.

"Jeri. Have you two kissed?" Takato's face got even redder. Henry frowned at them.

"Kazu-" he started.

"The reason I ask now, out of the blue like that, is to point out I never asked you that before. It's a bit of a shock, isn't it? But what do you think, Takato? What would happen if I started talking like that? I already know I'm lucky. You don't need to point it out to me, and you certainly don't need to get me in trouble with Rika because I probably don't have many second chances with her."

That shut them up. In fact, it left them with their mouths open. Who would have thought Kazu could think about Rika's feelings like that? Who would have thought he'd like her enough to be logical and sensible about the situation? Kazu ground his teeth, because he could see them thinking it. He was taking this seriously. They should know this by now. He never went into anything half-arsed.

Walking in front of them, Rika blushed, having heard every word. Kazu wasn't the quietest person in the room. Jeri giggled and nudged her side.

"You know," she confided. "It surprised me, but maybe it's not that crazy after all. When you think about it."

»«»«»«

"That was fun," she murmured, swinging their hands as he walked her home. She looked at him for a reaction, and found it in the contented smile on his face. "I reckon we gave everyone a bit of a shock."

"Well…" He paused, considering his answer. "I don't know about you, but I saw that coming."

"Hey." She stopped him, and he turned to face her, a little confused. "You don't… Do you… Did you mean that?"

"What?" He did the best impression of being completely clueless she'd ever seen. But she knew him better than that now. Knew him well enough to know he hid a lot beneath the surface. Of course he wasn't as shallow as some people believed. But his anger wasn't called for. He'd only just started trying to prove them wrong. People took time to adapt. To cope. She knew that better than anyone. She reached out and cupped his face.

"The thing about second chances… Kazu, you're not going to screw this up." If anything, she thought, she was.

»«»«»«

"I'm going to tell Ryo about us." Kazu almost fell over it was so unexpected.

"Seriously?" It was hard to describe his feelings. He was excited and giddy, because she was actually going to tell his idol that he'd beaten him to the punch. Actually taking him seriously enough to feel the need to tell him she was going to meet her almost ex. But he was horrifically nervous at the same time, because Ryo had always been better than him in every respect. Of course he didn't want Rika to go to him. He was scared she'd take one look at Ryo and realise what a fool she'd been. Wake up to the delusion they'd been living all this time.

"Yes." She giggled slightly. "You don't need to look like that. I'm not about to go crazy again." He stopped dead. He hadn't even considered that possibility. He gripped her upper arms and kissed her. Her eyes went impossibly wide. They didn't usually go about kissing one another in public. Their relationship wasn't exactly one of passion. It was more like a shared amusement at the rest of the world from behind the circle they'd drawn in the sand. They were honest with each other, and she liked Kazu because he was so reliable. Always there exactly when she needed him. Always supporting her. It was nice to have a supporter aside from Renamon, and just like Renamon, he made sure to tell her when she was wrong. She liked it when people did that. Goodness knew Takato never would, and Henry? She frowned, temporarily distracted. Henry hadn't really spent any time with her recently.

"I'm not worried about that," Kazu said, pulling away and staring into her eyes. She smiled. He said it with such certainty it made her want to believe it too. Truth be told, she was a little nervous to meet Ryo again. Not least because she couldn't predict what his reaction would be, and she was worried it would still upset her if he said he didn't give a damn.

"Okay, I'll bear that in mind." He kissed her again, and she could feel him smiling. No-one had predicted she would get with Kazu. It had only been a couple of weeks, but it felt good. She was happy.

»«»«»«

_Heya, the next update soon, but let me know what you think._

_Luv ya_

_**ΧχΜοοкίηεχΧ**_

_©2011 XxMookinexX. All rights reserved. Distribution of any kind is prohibited without the written consent of XxMookinexX._


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